Refrigerator-car



(No Model.\ 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. T. HILDRUP. Jr. REFRIGERATOR OAR.

No. 482,828. Patented July 22,1890.

WITNESSES 1.7V VENTOR (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. W. T. HILDRUP, Jr.REFRIGERATOR OAR.

No. 432,828. I Patented July 22, 1890.

l I H ll II [M I l 1| II I! III 1| WITNESSES I JV VEJV' TOR U NITEDSTATES PATE T OFFICE.

\VILLIAM THOMAS HILDRUP, JR, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

REFRIGERATOR CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 432,828, dated July 22,1890.

Application filed May 8, 1890.

Serial No. 351,042. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM THOMAS HIL- DRUP, J12, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Harrisburg, in the county of Dauphin andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Re frigerator-0ars; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to refrigerator-cars and other similar structuresin which meat and vegetables are temporarily stored; and it consists inthe novel construction and combination of the parts, hereinafter fullydescribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section through one end of acar constructed according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional planview of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross'section through the cooling-chamber,looking toward the ice-crate. Fig. 4 is a crossseetion through anice-crate provided with a corrugated liner according to this inventionand drawn to a smaller scale.

A is the cooling-chamber, in which the meat or vegetables are placed,and a are the carwalls, forming the sides of said cooling-chamher. Thecar-walls are made of non-heat'conducting material, and may be of anyapproved construction adapted to resist the conduction of heat.

B are vertical posts of wood, oblong in crosssection, and arrangededgewise at suitable distances apart in the form of a parallelogram,preferably occupying the end of the car and close adjacent to its sideand end walls. The posts constitute the sides of a crate for holdingice, and the spaces 1) between the posts form vertical draft-passagesfor cold air.

0 is the bottom of the crate, consisting of a series of bars of woodormetal, supported upon the cross-bars c and frame 0, the latter beingsecured to the posts B at a considerable distance above the car-floor,so as to leave a space D for cold air underneath the cratebottom, withwhich space all the draft-passages b may freely communicate at theirlower ends.

E are thin sheet-metal liner-plates secured to the inside of the postsB. These linerplates maybe of flat. sheet metal, but are preferablycorrugated, as shown at e, to increase the area of theirconducting-surfaces. The liner-plates are not continued up to the top ofthe crate, and the ice in the crate is not piled up much above the topsof the linerplates, so that a passage F may be left for the warm air topass through the crate over the top of the ice to the draft-passages b.The crate is filled with ice through a door f in the roofof the car, andG are brace-rods, which extend across the front and rear of the crate atthe top to strengthen it, and also to prevent lumps of ice from fallinginto the storagespace of the cooling-chamber and into thedraft-passages. I

ll is a screen of non-heat-conducting material-such as wood orcanvas-interposed between the front of the crate and thestorage-space ofthe cooling chamber A to prevent the direct radiation of coldfrom thefront liner-plate, which would otherwise cool the vegetables closeadjacent to the crate below the dew-point and spoil them by causingWater to be condensed upon their surfaces. The warm air in chamberArises to the top and passes over the top of the ice in the crate in.the direction of the arrows. The air is cooled by contact with the ice,and as it increases in density it sinks down the draftpassages 6 uponall sides of the crate and is further cooled by contact with themetallic liner-plates E. The cold air passes from the passages bthroughthe space D under the crate-bottom in the direction of the arrowsand is discharged into the lower part of the storage-space of thecooling-chamber. A continuous circulation of cold air is thus established to refrigerate the contents of chamber A.

crate, the air may pass downwardly through it in the direction of thedotted arrows, thereby compensating for the loss of cooling-surface inthe passages bat the sides of the crate.

The vertical posts B make a very light and strong crate in consequenceof being arranged edgewise and supported upon three sides by thecar-walls, and the currents of air in the passages b are unimpeded byfriction, as the posts are arranged at a considerable distance WVhen thesupply of ice gets low in the apart, so that the draft-passages may belarge in area. The thin metallic liner-plates present a largecooling-surface to the air in the passages 19, and preventlumps of icefrom projecting between the vertical posts and obstructing the freecirculation of air in the said passages.

I is a flat shallow tray under the ice-crate and below the cold-airspaceD, and i is the outlet-pipe for the water which collects in the tray.The ice-cold water which drips from the ice-crate falls in drops uponthe fiat surface of the tray I, and wets the whole of it before thedrops collect together in sufficient volume'to run off down the pipe t'.The air in the space D is still further cooled by contact with the filmof ice-cold water in the tray, over which it passes to thecooling-chamber, and the thin film of water collects in drops and runsoff as soon as it has absorbed all the heat it can take up and isreplaced by colder water dripping from the ice-crate.

J is a false ceiling of open lattice-work extending all over thestorage-space level with the top of the liner-plates in the crate andlevel with the bottom of the warm-air space F. This causes the warm-airspace of passage F to be extended the full length of the car, andprevents meat or vegetables from being piled up in the said space.

K is an inclined guard of open lattice-work projecting in front of thecold-air space D to prevent crates of vegetables from being piled up infront of the opening of said space in such manner as to obstruct thefree circulation. The crates of vegetables are piled upon the car-floorat the bot-tom of the guard, and cannot rest upon the guard, owing toits inclination. The lattice work may consist of wooden bars spaced atany convenient (listance apart.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with an inclosing cooling-chamber,of a crate adapted to be filled with ice and formed of vertical postspro= vided with a liner of corrugated metallic plates, leaving a spacefor warm air above the ice-space of the crate, a space for cold airbelow the crate bottom, and airpassages through the crate and around itssides for connecting the said air-spaces above and below the ice-space,and a screen in front of the said liner between the crate and thestoragespace of the cooling-chamber, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. The combination, with an inclosing cooling-chamber, of a crateadapted to be filled with ice and formed of vertical posts resting onthe bottom of the said chamber and provided with a bottom of open-workfor the ice to rest on, and a liner of corrugated metallic plates aroundthe ice-space of the crate, leaving a space for warm air above the saidicespace, a space for cold air below the crate-bottom, and air-passagesthrough the crate and around its sides for connecting the said airspacesabove and below the ice-space, a driptray under the crate provided withan outlet, and a screen in front of the said liner between the crate andthe storage-space of the cooling-chamber, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the inclosing cooling-chamber, of an ice-cratesupported in said chamber, spaces for cold and warm air being leftbetween the floor and roof of the said chamber and the bottom and top ofthe ice in the crate, whereby a continuous circulation of air may beestablished for refrigerating the contents of the cooling-chamber,afalse ceiling of open lattice-work supported level with thebottom of the said warm-air space, and a guard of open lattice-work infront of the opening between the said cold-air spaceand thestorage-space of the cooling-chamber, substantially as and'for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM THOMAS HILDRUI, JR. 'Witnesses: Y

D. P, RAHTER,

ELMER FLOWERS.

